


Raccoon

by renhyuckshoe



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Cliche, Cringe, Donghyuck is a sad boi at first, Everyone's probably gay, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, I really am, Jaemin is wiSE, Jeno is an angel as always, Kinda?, Light swearing but not much since they're in university, M/M, Mark is a little jealous at times, Mark is...Mark lmfao, One Shot, Polyamory, Renjun is.. Renjun, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, Taeil's kind of there but not there at the same time I'm sorry, The narration is a mess and I'm sorry, There's Sherlock reference too, There's a GOT7 reference here, There's a lot of tumblr inspired headcanons so.., There's no rated stuff but there's kissing, There's really no sexual jokes here unless you think of them in that way uhh, There's unnecessary complications here idk why I make myself suffer so much, This is my first time writing a kiss scene please forgive me, University AU, Very basic istg, little...attempt at angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 21:17:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20216431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renhyuckshoe/pseuds/renhyuckshoe
Summary: “Wait, he called me a raccoon?”Where Donghyuck and Mark are tattoo-less until they aren't.





	Raccoon

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in my word drafts for so long and I'd already written a major part when I read through and realised...the narration,,,,ain't it. It's from Donghyuck's POV at first and then it suddenly changed to Mark's? Idk what I was thinking tbh but I tried to bring a more 3rd Person POV while editing so I hope it's not too confusing ;-;
> 
> This is the [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct_NaWo8azc) that suddenly inspired me to just get on with the fic and it kind of fits the overall vibe i wanted this to have.
> 
> Tell me what you think and don't forget to point any mistakes out or if you simply want to tell me some parts feel off. I'm up for constructive criticism!
> 
> Edit : Omg thank you so much for a 100 kudos; y'all are crazy 💜;-; I didn't really have any expectations for this but wow were they surpassed lmao

  
Donghyuck was your average university student – sleep deprived, swimming in piles of assignments, too much coffee in his system (probably enough to replace the water in his plasma) and that permanent headache that’s been there since his first year.

But currently university was the least of his worries. What bugged him even more was the fact that he was already turning 20 but he was yet to get his soul mate tattoo.   
You see, soul mate tattoos were a simple match-making system that involved getting the name of your supposed soul mate tattooed somewhere on your body. Simple enough. Guaranteed not to let you die alone some way or the other.

The thing is they’re supposed to get etched on your body when you turn 18. But Donghyuck was already 20. It’s been 2 years since Donghyuck was a freak in the system.

“Don’t worry about it too much, you’ll get it someday. What you need to worry about are those ugly bags under your eyes,” his friend Renjun let out during lunch one day. “Don’t want your potential soul mate to look at you and think ‘Ew that’s ugly; can’t believe I have to live with that’.”

Donghyuck looked up from his tray and gave him a scoff. “Don’t patronize me; you’ve got two soul mates.”

Renjun opened his mouth to retaliate but nothing came out. In the end, he settled with a groan. “It’s not like it’s easy having two soul mates either, you know.”

“Oh please, it makes me want to gag at how sweet you’re with them. How come you never cook for me when I ask you to? You choose your soul mates over me, your best friend whom you’ve been with since middle school?” Donghyuck let out, flailing his arms for emphasis.

Renjun flushed at that. Sure, polyamory was hard and at first he thought it was a glitch in the system. But he couldn’t deny the fact that he was living his best life with his soul mates.

“Fine, I’ll cook for you someday at the dorm if that’s what you want.”

Donghyuck let out a fist of victory in the air. Renjun only chuckled at his antics.

“But you know,” Donghyuck let out with a bitter grin. “I’m not worried about my soul mate for the sake of my love life. What if I can’t get a job once they find out I’m an anomaly in the system? Would they hire someone like that?"

Renjun softened his eyes at that. “Hey, it’ll be alright. You’ve still got 2 years in uni. Someone will come along in that time.” 

“Yeah, thanks.”

Silence fell over their table as they concentrated on their food. Before Renjun broke it, that is.

“Aight on to less depressing topics now. There’s going to be one of those spring house parties at Yukhei’s. Wanna tag along?”

“No I’ll pass. Still can’t figure out _why_ I’ve got this headache.”

Renjun sighed as he stabbed his salad. “That’s because you neither have a proper sleep schedule nor a healthy diet. Adding to why you’re so skinny. Also, that’s your sixth cup of coffee since morning. The only other person I know who loves coffee as much as you is probably Jaemin.”

Donghyuck sipped his Americano as he nodded in comprehension. “Interesting."

///

The rest of the day passed with both boys engrossed in their classes. By evening, Donghyuck’s headache had worsened to the point where he had considered lying dead in the middle of the hallway instead of bothering to even go up to his room. But thank the heavens, he didn’t. So there he was, trudging up to his shared dorm with Renjun.

He opened his dorm door and got greeted with the sight of Renjun and one of his soul mates. Both dressed up. Must be for the spring party Renjun was talking about. 

“Hey Renjun, hey Jeno,” Donghyuck greeted both males from the doorway.

“Oh hey, Donghyuck,” Jeno turned to greet said male with a smile before it morphed into one of concern. “You alright? You look…"

“Like shit? Yeah I told him so earlier today,” Renjun completed for Jeno.

Jeno scrunched his nose. “Not quite the choice of words I was going for but can’t deny yours either.”

Donghyuck groaned. “God, shut up Renjun. And I’m alright Jeno. It's only a headache.” He informed as he made a beeline for his bedroom. 

“What about dinner?” Renjun asked his roommate.

Donghyuck shook his head and grimaced at the pain it brought to his already pounding head before replying, “I want to sleep already. Pray to whatever God you can for this stinky headache to go away once it’s morning."

“See? You’re skipping meals again. What did I say during lunch I-”

“Jeno, take mom away and take care of her for the night. And lock the door, will you? Thanks.”

Donghyuck proceeded towards his room once again. Jeno chuckled and he swayed a frozen Renjun who stared after his roommate in disbelief. “Come on, let’s go already mom. Let the guy sleep.”

Renjun turned to look at Jeno with another wave of disbelief. “You’re calling me mom now too? I’m older than both of you in case you forgot. The amount of disrespect I have to put up with everyday. This is why I like Jaemin better.” Renjun shook his head as he put on his vans. “Oh and I’m not talking to you for the rest of the night.”

Jeno widened his eyes with shock as he rushed to follow his boyfriend out the door.

“Baobei wait-” from a distressed Jeno was what Donghyuck last heard before the click of the lock.

Donghyuck sighed at the quiet in the dorm before changing into his sleep wear. He sighed a second time when his fatigued body hit the covers. “Finally,” he muttered as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep with the still pounding headache.

///

Donghyuck didn’t know how long he’d been sleeping when a loud scratching at the door woke him up. He turned in his bed trying to grope for his phone. His screen read 4am.  
Could it be Renjun was back with Jeno? But the sound was coming from outside their dorm. And like, Renjun had their dorm key too so why the hell would he _scratch_ the door?

Dounghyuck turned up his duvet further to cover his ears from the obnoxious scratching hoping whatever it was would fuck off from denied amusement. 

It had been 20 minutes since then and off they did not fuck. It only got more desperate mixed with sobs this time. Donghyuck was having a very hard time keeping himself together at this point. 

In the end, he decided to confront the person because he had enough with the scratching. It wasn’t doing wonders to his headache either.

He inched towards the door very slowly but not before retrieving a baseball bat from his room. He didn’t really know why he had that in the first place. He never played baseball. But it sure was coming in handy nonetheless. 

“God, when I asked for my headache to go away I didn’t imply I wanted to die,” he muttered. Maybe his health was too far gone at that point and the headache had become a permanent component of him so the only way of ridding it was dying, thought Donghyuck.

He carefully opened the lock. The thing on the other side must have heard the noise as it stopped scratching. Donghyuck got ready to swing his bat down on any intruder while he opened the door as slowly as he could. He peeked out in the dark and couldn’t help but relax a little when he observed the outline of the silhouette and concluded it wasn’t anything inhumane. He swung open the door and simultaneously switched on the light of the door way to momentarily blind the possible intruder and got into his protective stance again, holding the baseball bat high.

The stranger on the other side scrunched his eyes from the sudden light and brought his hands up to his face. They both stayed like that for some moments until the stranger adjusted to the artificial light. He looked at Donghyuck, with his bed head, dark circles and the bat raised high. 

“Oh look, a raccoon,” was all he said before passing out at the doorway.

Donghyuck had never been more overwhelmed with emotions.

He looked at the body before him for a while and shrugged. He put the bat down and proceeded to drag the man further into their dorm. Not much, just enough so he could lock the door. He then went to his room, climbed into his own bed and soon fell asleep.

///

Donghyuck woke up a second time to a familiar high-pitched voice. 

“Donghyuck! There’s a body in the doorway what did you do last night?!”

He groaned and got up. His headache was still there but it had effectively subsided. “What body,” Donghyuck mumbled before he sat up straight. Memories of last night flooded in on him. He sprung out of bed and went to the hallway to see a much traumatized Renjun at the door. Sure enough, the stranger was still passed out. 

Renjun looked up at him. “What-”

“Don’t panic, no one died.”

“What is that even supposed to mean? Am I supposed to be relieved at that????”

Donghyuck yawned and turned around to make his way towards the bathroom. “I don’t know him. Woke up to him scratching at the door at 4am. Not knocking, not banging. _Scratching_. He must’ve been drunk. Passed out right after he called me a raccoon.” Donghyuck paused and furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait, he called me a _raccoon_?”

Renjun took some time to process last night’s scenario before he finally asked, “So like, should we wake him up?”

Donghyuck made a thoughtful face before saying, “You know what? Let’s not.”

Renjun nodded as he finally entered the dorm having been standing at the doorway till then. He was careful not to wake up the strange person. 

Donghyuck looked at Renjun. He looked disheveled, unlike the usual, neat Renjun. “Where were you all night though?”

Renjun sighed as he ruffled his hair. “Passed out at Yukhei’s.”

Donghyuck simply hummed. He proceeded to perform his morning routine as Renjun went to his room.

Donghyuck made breakfast for Renjun for the first time. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how or he didn’t want to. They usually had morning classes and they were rarely both at the dorm on days they didn’t have morning classes. Today was an exception and also due to the fact that Renjun felt a hangover coming on.

“Thanks,” Renjun muttered as he rubbed his temple. “You know, we may not have class today but we don’t know about his schedule.”

Donghyuck paused mid-sip to his coffee. “You’re right. And he slept on the floor all night too, it must be cold.”

He put down his mug of coffee and walked over to the pile still on their doorway. He tried gently nudging at first but to no avail. In the end, he was heaving the man over hoping it would wake him up.

It worked. The stranger groaned and turned over to face Donghyuck, eyes still closed. “Yukhei, I told you I’d dropped the anthropology class,” he mumbled groggily. Donghyuck scoffed, “Do I look like Yukhei to you?”

The stranger shot his eyes open. He sat up straight and immediately regretted doing so. “My head,” he winced. “Welcome to the club, buddy,” Renjun shot out from his propped up position behind the counter. He had done so to get a better look. 

The stranger looked around him and then finally landed his eyes on Donghyuck and Renjun. He squinted his eyes at Renjun. “Wait, is that- are you Jeno’s soul mate?”  
“That I am. But I have a name too, y’know,” Renjun said returning to his food.

“Right,” he mumbled. He looked around the weirdly familiar surrounding once more before starting, “Uhm, sorry but where am I?” He dismissed it due to the fact that most uni dorms looked the same.

Donghyuck got up from beside the lost boy and made his way over to Renjun. “You don’t remember last night, do you?”

Referred male shook his head, careful not to encourage the slight headache. “At least, not how I got here.”

“Well, you came here around 4am scratching at the door. We need to check if you left marks there later. Anyway, I was alone at the dorm, right? I got scared shitless and thought I’d die today. I grabbed a bat and was about to hit you but then you called me a raccoon and passed out.”

Donghyuck pointed towards the abandoned weapon from earlier that morning and the stranger followed his direction. He shook his head once, “I was scratching at the door? Why didn’t I knock?”

“That’s what you caught up on? You called me a raccoon!”

“You were going to hit me with that bat?? But I didn’t do anything then!”

“You coming to the dorm at 4am, drunk as hell, was suspicious enough. Be grateful I didn’t rat you out to the authorities.”

Renjun snickered as he put his plate in the sink. “By the way, I’m Renjun and that’s Donghyuck. This is our dorm. I don’t think we’ve caught your name yet?”

“It’s Mark.”

“Well, Mark, you can have breakfast with us if you want,” Renjun offered.

“What? I’m not going to make breakfast for someone who called me a raccoon of all first things,” Donghyuck protested.

Mark tried to get up from the floor with the help of a nearby object, which happened to be the shoe rack. “Not my fault you go around looking like that. I almost feel bad for your soul mate.”

“Jokes on you, I don’t have any,” Donghyuck spat bitterly.

Mark stiffened immediately. “What did you say?”

Renjun face palmed hard. Donghyuck silently cursed under his breath. He’d grown so used to complaining about it in Renjun’s presence it slipped out. 

“Uhm...I mean,” he started, trying to avert the focus of the topic but Mark was adamant.

“Did you say you don’t have any soul mate tattoo?”

Donghyuck and Renjun exchanged glances. They were trying to brace themselves for Mark’s reaction but what came next surprised both of them.

“Man,” Mark breathed a sigh of relief as he put his left hand up to his forehead sweeping back the disheveled bangs. “I thought I was the only one!”  
Donghyuck got hit with a wave of emotions the second time that day by the same person.

///

“So let me get this straight,” Jeno started. “You called Donghyuck a raccoon and then you find out he’s tattoo-less like you?”

“Drop the fact that I called him a raccoon already! It’s not funny anymore and I’m not particularly proud of it either,” Mark said flopping down on the seat beside Jeno and put his backpack down. The teacher was late like always.

“The author clearly thinks otherwise,” Jeno said, raising an eyebrow.

Mark gave him an incredulous look. “Dude, did you just break the fourth-wall?”

Jeno cocked his head in confusion. “What’s that?”

Mark sighed. He pulled out his laptop and continued typing on his unfinished assignment. “Never mind.”

Silence fell over them with only the sound of Mark’s keyboard until Jeno inched his seat closer to Mark’s. “So,”

“So,” Mark repeated without looking up from his screen.

“Don’t you think the universe is telling you something?”

“Like?”

Jeno paused a bit before going on with his explanation. “Like, everyone has tattoos to tell them who their significant other is, right? But both Donghyuck and you don’t have any. Do you see where this is going? It could be reverse strategy!”

Mark snorted. “Are you telling me to date Donghyuck because he isn’t claimed and we could be potential tattoo-less soul mates? Or because I need to date, like, big time?”

“Little bit of both,” Jeno replied, flashing his infamous eye-smile.

“Look, man, I appreciate the effort but the only thing the universe is telling me is that I’ll die alone.”

“But you don’t have to!”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll take your word for it but me and Donghyuck is never happening.”

///

Jeno and Mark parted ways after class. Mark was on his way to the dorm to finish his AP assignment. That’s right, he thought. He was busy enough with university. He didn’t need to deal with another person and add to his stress. And dating was probably demanding, right? Heck, he didn’t even know how to take care of himself yet, how was he supposed to handle another live human?

He was walking in a daze until he saw a familiar person waving to him. 

Donghyuck.

“Hey, did you see Jeno?” he asked as he got closer to Mark.

“Jeno? Yeah we separated after class.”

“Wait, aren’t you older than us? How come Jeno has the same class as you?”

“Oh, it’s AP Maths.”

Donghyuck scrunched his face. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Mark broke into a smile with his eyebrows furrowed. “No, why?”

“Jeno and AP Maths? I swear to god, he told me last week he was never aware 15 came before 16.”

Mark smiled wider with a chuckle. “He must’ve been stressed from the homework last week. The professor is quite demanding. But at least she’s helpful. That’s why most people haven’t dropped it yet.”

Donghyuck hummed. Before the both of them knew, they were walking the same way. Well, Mark was on his way to his dorm. He didn’t know about Donghyuck though. In fact, he didn’t know much about Donghyuck. What classes he’s in, whether he’s in any of the AP programs and neither does he know his major. They only met last week and it was not one of the more pleasant of first meets. But at least Renjun and Donghyuck were nice about it (Donghyuck took a little longer to be nice about it but Renjun’s persuasion skills are not to be questioned).

It hadn’t been that long since knowing Donghyuck; how could Jeno tell Mark to up and date him? He was swayed by the fact that they both didn’t have tattoos but that didn’t possibly imply anything, did it?

“I can literally hear the gears running in your head from here.” A laugh followed.

Mark looked at Donghyuck. “Oh, sorry, I tend to do that. My friends leave me when that happens so that they get a laugh out of me trying to figure out where they went.”

Donghyuck scrunched his nose. “That’s not nice. If it were Renjun and I, he would hit me and then tell me it’s dangerous when I start to think.”

Mark let out a laugh. “How’s that better?”

Donghyuck shrugged. “It’s Renjun’s way of being nice. That piece of shit has been with me since 5th grade, I would know. Plus, he gives pretty good advice sometimes.”  
Mark would rather do this first. Get to know Donghyuck. 

///

“Hey Jaemin,” Donghyuck greeted Renjun’s other soul mate back at their dorm. His headache wasn't as bad as before but he could still feel a light throbbing. It was the least painful it had been that week so he took what he had.

“Hyuckie~,” Jaemin replied Donghuck with a blinding smile of his. It was unfair how both Renjun’s soul mates were incredibly attractive. Well, Renjun was attractive too, but mostly on the outside. 

“How dare you!” Renjun screeched from the living area. Donghyuck looked up at him and realized he had said his thoughts out loud. “I stay with you through thick and thin and this is how you think of me? That’s worse than being called ugly!”

Donghyuck looked him dead in the eye. “Lose that mouth and I’ll think about it.”

Jaemin chuckled at his friend and boyfriend’s antics. He knew it was harmless. Moreover, he should be concerned when this doesn’t happen.

“You both are so tsundere aww,” he cooed.

///

“So, this happens every day?” Mark looked concerned, to say the least. 

“Every day,” Jeno replied slurping on his milkshake, unfazed.

“Every night,” Jaemin added in.

“Feel like a fool,” they both continued with melody. They looked pleased with each other and high-fived like the adults they were. Mark confirmed they both shared the one (1) and only brain cell they had. He sighed.

He was currently at Donghyuck, Renjun and his soul mates’ table from invitation by Jeno. It was a Wednesday and all his friends were busy with classes when he had a free period after AP with Jeno. They usually spent it together. Sometimes Jaemin would tag along. But today Donghyuck and Renjun were the new additions. And boy, were they stealing the spotlight.

It was an innocent question, really. But little did Mark know it would fuel a civil war between the two of them:

“I don’t particularly like cereal; but milk first or cereal?”

“Cereal, of course.” 

“Milk, what kind of question is that?”

Renjun and Donghyuck said their opinions simultaneously. They looked up and then slowly turned their heads at each other.

“Excuse me, what?” Donghyuck asked. “What kind of monster puts cereal first?”

“You’re the monster here! Who even pours the milk first?”

“I do! And why am I learning this about you only now? We live together for God’s sake!”

“That’s because I eat breakfast before you, headass.”

Donghyuck gasped dramatically. “You’ve been pouring the milk after the cereal in my household? How dare you!” 

“Go away, I paid for that dorm. I could say the same about you too, you know.”

Donghyuck turned towards Jeno and Jaemin. “Are you guys listening to this? Your soul mate needs therapy.”

Jeno and Jaemin shrugged. “We’re all cereal first here, to be honest.”

Renjun smirked victoriously. Donghyuck looked like he had been deeply wronged. As if his only trusted noblemen in the whole court turned their backs on him. 

Mark tried to calm them down by saying, “Uhm guys, it’s not that deep? Let’s just eat our breakfast however we want.” He tried being helpful because he did initiate the conversation they were having right now.

Renjun and Donghyuck glared at him simultaneously. Mark had recoiled under the cold atmosphere.

“It’s one thing to eat breakfast and another to eat it _correctly_.” 

And as one thing lead to another, there they were first row seats to the ‘bicker of the century’TM. Jaemin finally had had enough when he said, “Guys, stop. We’re used to y’all but Mark is clearly uncomfortable here. Let’s cut him some slack.” 

Thank the heavens for Na Jaemin.

Donghyuck and Renjun stopped mid-way to their sentences and looked at Mark. Renjun straightened himself. “Right, we’re sorry about that. Jeno and Jaemin are used to us and we kinda forgot you were here with us.” He said sheepishly.

Mark had to blink at the change in their demeanour in literal seconds. “No, it’s alright,” he laughed. “I was the one who asked after all.”

Donghyuck leaned on the table. “I’m willing to put away our differences for the sake of Mark here.”

Mark doesn’t know why but his stupid, weak heart for pretty boys though it was endearing that Donghyuck was thoughtful of him (although Renjun backed out first and he was pretty too, Mark’s brain supplied). It may also be due to the fact that Mark was literally starved of any affection due to his lack of time but he’d rather blame it on Donghyuck since that’s easier. 

Jeno was quiet all the while. He suddenly put his hands in a steepling on the table.

“But the real question is,” he started grimly. “Do you wet the toothbrush before or after putting the toothpaste?”

“Before.”

“After.”

Renjun and Donghyuck looked at each other again. 

Way to go, Jeno. Mark and Jaemin rolled their eyes at the impending storm brewing. Well, at least he knows two useless trivia about Donghyuck now.

///

“What’s different about a clique?” Donghyuck asked Mark one day.

Mark made a thoughtful face before answering, “It’s mostly for judging other people.” Donghyuck ooh-ed. 

It was currently the first day of winter break. Classes were on halt and they were both sprawled out on one of the many grounds their university had. Basking in the rare sunlight they got around this time. It had been roughly a month since Mark got added to their group of friends despite being older. And Mark and Donghyuck had surprisingly gotten along well the most in spite of the unflattering incident. They never bring it up again.

"How's your headache these days?" Mark asked.

"It's there but I almost forgot about it until you asked. I _am_ getting more sleep these days and drinking less coffee courtesy to the one and only Huang Renjun," he replied. Mark was the only other person other than Renjun who would ask about his headaches on a frequent basis. Jeno and Jaemin didn't because, well, Donghyuck never told them. He told Mark though and at first he was convinced Mark would dismiss it telling it would go away sooner or later but Mark was genuinely concerned about him. He thought it was a sweet gesture.

Mark chuckled a little and hummed. 

“What do you think about polyamory?” Donghyuck brought up.

“Are you talking about Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin?”

Donghyuck hummed and waited for an answer. Mark chuckled. “Well, they make it look so easy to be honest. I don’t think I can do that though.”

“They really love Renjun. Jeno and Jaemin,” Donghyuck said like it wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world already. “Renjun was incredibly stressed the day he got a second tattoo; Jaemin’s. I was really worried for him. But it turns out they’re the best thing that happened to him, second only to me of course.” Mark snorted. 

Donghyuck sighed and turned around. “Mark, do you still want your tattoo?”

Mark furrowed his eyebrows. “Of course I do.” _Who doesn’t?_

“It’s just that…after all this time maybe I’ve grown too used to not having a partner. I don’t know how to deal with it when the time comes. Do I want to fall into the norm? I want to; but I don’t know."

Mark hummed. So that’s what he was getting at. “To be honest, your soul mate is supposed to be your significant other right? I personally don’t think the system is that high tier but the least your designated partner can do is respect your opinions when the time comes.”

Donghyuck gaped at Mark before breaking into a grin. “Thanks that made me feel better. It’s nice to have someone older to confide in.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “You make it sound like I’m _old_ old. We’re literally a year apart.”

Donghyuck chuckled and silence fell over them. 

“You know, the dorm you’re using now used to be mine. Probably that was why I went there in the first place,” Mark supplied. Donghyuck grimaced. “What did we tell you? Don’t bring that up again. We’re going to pretend we met each other at a frat party.”

“It’ll be a clique secret, how thrilling.”

Both of them laughed at that before silence engulfed them again. Neither minded it though.

“Speaking of secrets,” Donghyuck started with a grim tone. He didn’t know what had come over him to say this out loud but he felt like he should finally say it. Something he hadn’t even told Renjun before. “Actually I already have a tattoo.”

Mark sat up instantly to peer over the other boy’s laying frame. 

“What?!”

///

It had been a week since Donghyuck’s great revelation. He had expected Mark to walk out on him for that but the older surprisingly handled it well. With age comes many a great skill, thought Donghyuck. He had pleaded Mark not to tell anyone with clear desperation. 

Mark softened his eyes at that, “You know he won’t hate you for it.”

Donghyuck had huffed at that. “Of course I know he won’t hate me for it. But I don’t want him to feel guilty for being happy while I wallowed in sorrow all this time.” 

“Do you like him?”

Donghyuck stared at the grass, sitting up. “I don’t know,” he said burying his head in his knees.

Mark didn’t question it further and just sat there by the younger, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Donghyuck’s event for the day had ended there but Mark’s didn’t.

He had been on his way to his dorm after walking Donghyuck to his. It was an unfamiliar feeling to Mark. There was light sting on his abdomen and at first he paid no heed, thinking it was probably because they had lain on the grass. But soon, the light sting had progressed to full on needle pricks. 

His dorm mate Yukhei had greeted him when he entered the room. He lightly waved in acknowledgement, just wanting to strip off his shirt and find out the source of his annoyance. And what waited in front of the mirror was probably the biggest shock he’d gotten in his 21 years of life. 

There, on the flesh of his abs, was the name ‘Lee Donghyuck’ etched in careful cursive and navy blue ink. 

Unless there was another Lee Donghyuck Mark knew of (which was highly improbable), it could only mean one thing;

“Shit.”

///

So much for “me and Donghyuck is never happening”.

But strangely, Mark had not told anyone for a week even after finally getting his tattoo. Something he’d been waiting for his whole life. Is this how Donghyuck felt? Mark had wondered.

He knew Donghyuck wouldn’t judge him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. And the event that followed shortly after made Mark half relieved and half dread he didn’t disclose about his soul mate sooner. 

Donghyuck had burst into their dorm while Xiaojun (their third dorm mate) was helping with his AP Project. Well not really, he was banging on the door frantically. Xiaojun had got up to answer the door and was greeted by a ruffled Donghyuck.

“Mark’s busy,” Xiaojun replied before the younger male could say anything.

Donghyuck scoffed at that. “What made you think I’m here for Mark? I could be visiting you too.”

Xiaojun raised his eyebrow at that and shook his head, “Donghyuck please, you're more transparent than air.”

Mark snickered at the scene before him. 

“Okay, fine I’m here for Mark. Get over here already, I know you can hear us.”

Mark gingerly put his laptop down and walked over to the door. He nodded at Xiaojun before closing it.

"I didn't know Xiaojun and you knew each other?" he asked while smirking. Donghyuck rolled his eyes. 

“You’re clearly enjoying this, aren’t you? Anyway, about why I came here…”

Mark turned towards Donghyuck. Their height difference wasn’t much but it still managed to make Donghyuck look small, which Mark found to be quite endearing. He snapped out of daze and his world came tumbling down at the next thing Donghyuck uttered:

“I have a new soul mate. Moon Taeil.”

///

Renjun had congratulated Donghyuck for getting his tattoo. He needn’t be worried about employment anymore and he could finally go on double dates with his best friend. Well, maybe not exactly _double_ dates, but you get the idea.

“Woah woah hold up I don’t know any Moon Taeil yet,” Donghyuck whined when Renjun was straight up embarrassing him by being too emotional. He could swear Renjun was more thrilled about the whole ordeal than he was. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll meet him soon enough. At least you have a lead on who it is.”

Mark stayed quiet the whole time. When Donghyuck had first told him back at his dorm, he was shocked. But he put on a smile for the sake of being a good friend. And, you guessed it; he still hadn’t told anyone that his tattoo was Donghyuck. Jeno was right in the beginning. He should have just dated Donghyuck before this whole mess happened. 

He should have dated Donghyuck before his laughs would be initiated by someone else. He should have dated Donghyuck before someone else’s name graced his skin. He should have dated Donghyuck before someone else becomes the reason his soft bangs fall over his beautifully crinkled eyes full of joy. He should have dated Donghyuck before it hurt.Because Mark was convinced at this point, no matter how the circumstances would have played out, he had no way other than falling for Donghyuck.

Jaemin noticed Mark’s silence and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Mark sighed and put his face in his hands. “Nothing,” he replied. 

Jaemin looked at the trio fussing over Donghyuck before he leaned in towards Mark. “Your tattoo is Donghyuck, isn’t it?” Mark’s head shot up at that.

“How’d you know?”

Jaemin simply smiled. “You and Donghyuck aren’t hard to read at all, you know? Jeno doesn’t know how to take a hint because he’s low-key dumb, Maths AP or not. And Renjun. Well Renjun is sharp but he’s too happy for Donghyuck at the moment.”

Jaemin turned towards Mark and scoffed instantly. “Stop looking at me like John looked at Sherlock season 1 episode 1.” 

Mark gave him a sad smile. “What now? My love life ended before it even started.”

“You know, Jeno isn’t my soul mate. At least I don’t have his tattoo to prove so.”

Mark’s eyes went wide at that. “But Jeno has your tattoo. He has both Renjun and your’s.”

“Renjun has both mine and Jeno’s too. But my soul mate is only Renjun.” He lifted the lower part of his jeans to expose his ankle where Renjun’s name was carved in red ink. “I got terrified when I found out Renjun had another soul mate and they both sported each other’s names. I thought I would be left out but both of them were so lovable I couldn’t help but fall in love with Jeno too. I still don’t have his tattoo but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him and treat him as my soul mate all the same.”

Mark continued to stare in front of them. He had a faint idea of what Jaemin was getting at but he wanted to hear it from Jaemin himself. 

“What I’m saying is,” Jaemin continued, “if I’d have believed in the soul mate system blindly, I wouldn’t have fallen for someone as amazing as Jeno. And even though my tattoo is Renjun, it took me some time to open up to both of them all the same. The soul mate system isn’t absolute, although society may say otherwise. It’s important to assess for yourself before anything, really. What comes first is always your well being.”

Mark looked up at Jaemin. He was the youngest out of them but his maturity was commendable. “Thanks for that, Jaemin.” They smiled at each other, unaware that Donghyuck was watching.

Donghyuck didn't know why but it started to hurt tenfold than what he was used to. And it wasn't his headache this time.

///

This was it. 

Mark had decided he would finally tell Donghyuck about his tattoo. He was inspired after talking with Jaemin but he was quite lacking in the courage department. (“Man up and just tell him already. You’ll do both yourselves a favour,” Yukhei and Xiaojun had deadpanned and proceeded to grumble in Chinese when Mark was talking about his Donghyuck fiasco for the umpteenth time in their dorm)

He was walking through the halls of Donghyuck’s faculty, he was a music major as Mark had learned, preparing his heart for the emotionally rigorous event about to happen. _You got this, you got this, you got this. Who am I kidding, I clearly don’t got this._

Mark grimaced at his self-esteem.

He found Donghyuck after frantically searching for him. At this point he was confident he could make Donghyuck out from any crowd. He got closer to the familiar mop of ginger hair before stopping in his tracks. Donghyuck was with someone. 

He carefully tread over to them as his brain grew anxious with every step. 

What if that’s Moon Taeil? He’s found him already?

Mark looked at the other male talking to his potential soul mate. He felt like throwing up. The more he looked at ‘Taeil,’ the more he realised how inadequate he was. He stopped again and turned on his heels this time. 

Maybe he wasn’t Donghyuck’s tattoo for a reason. 

///

Wednesday came again like the sun came after the moon. 

All five of them were at their usual table. Mark hadn’t ignored Donghyuck after his finding. First, because Donghyuck didn’t deserve to be ignored when it clearly wasn’t his fault for wanting to get together with his soul mate. Second, he would have to disclose the reason behind his demeanour, which would in turn reveal why he wanted to see Donghyuck in the first place. And Mark most certainly did not want that now that Moon Taeil had come into the picture.

Sure, Mark hadn’t explicitly tried to ignore Donghyuck but he couldn’t help but distance him at the same time. He felt it was for the best since he did not want to fall for Donghyuck anymore than he already had. And because of Moon Taeil, of course. He did not want to raise any misunderstandings between them.

After couple of minutes of mindless chattering, Donghyuck finally brought up the topic Mark had been dreading. 

“So, I met Moon Taeil.” Mark hated the way that name rolled off Donghyuck’s tongue. Like he was the most precious thing he’d come across. Mark especially hated that small smile that spread across Donghyuck’s face.

That’s it. He was nauseous again.

Mark shot up from his seat, the poor chair clattering from the force in the process. “I just remembered I need to turn in my AP assignment. I’ll be back.”

He ignored Jeno’s reminder that there was still a day left for the deadline. He ignored Jaemin’s sympathetic face from the moment Moon Taeil was brought up.

And in his ignorance, he missed the hurt that flashed across Donghyuck’s face.

Mark never went back.

///

“Come on, man. Did I raise you to mope around like a teenage girl in love?” Yukhei finally snapped at their dorm one day.

Mark looked up at Yukhei, eyebrow raised. “You did, in fact, _not_ raise me.”

“Well that’s clearly the reason you’re moping around now, isn’t it?”

Mark groaned. A sound that came out as a mixture between a whale call and a dying cow. To be honest, I don’t know how that sounds like but it was clearly something not attractive and that’s what I do know.

“I walked out on him when he was talking about Moon Taeil. He was so happy. I want him to be happy but he wasn’t happy because of me. I couldn’t see that. Oh my god, I’m such a bad _friend_.” Damn it hurt to say that word even when it was him saying it. 

Yukhei rolled his eyes. 

“Come on,” he said as he tried to pull Mark off the bed. 

“Where?” Mark whined.

“We’re going to exorcise the spirit of that moping teenage girl in you.”

///

When Yukhei said the word ‘exorcise’ Mark imagined a legit exorcism. Yeah, stupid. He realised that now. What he did not imagine was that he would be brought into a party with intoxicated teenagers despite it only being 5 in the evening. 

Guess some people were really stressed about their AP assignments, huh?

Mark decided, _fuck it_ since he was already there. He was stressed too but it wasn't because of the AP assignment. 

///

It was like déjà vu.

He was back at his old dorm, now occupied by Renjun and Donghyuck, scratching the door. 

_ Pathetic_, he thought.

This time though, he didn’t have to wait 20 minutes for the door to open. 5 minutes in, he heard Renjun’s voice from the other side, “God, is this how he came up that day? That’s demonic, I’m telling you.”

Mark chuckled at the supernatural references all in one day. 

The door opened to reveal Donghyuck’s scowling face. “Just because we told you not to bring it up does _not_ give you incentive to do it again.”

Mark ignored the way the fluorescent lights from the room behind him seemed to create a halo around Donghyuck. He dismissed it as him being simply tipsy. What he focused on instead was trying to calm his beating heart. 

“Can we talk? Alone, preferably?”

Donghyuck peered over his shoulder, probably to Renjun. There was silence before Mark heard shuffling. He heard footsteps come closer as Donghyuck opened the door wider. Renjun got out the doorway. Mark let out a small sorry for kicking him out of his own dorm. Renjun only laughed before saying he’d be at Jaemin’s. 

Mark was staring at Renjun’s retreating figure in the hallway before he was pulled in by a harsh tug on the wrist. He heard the click of the door after that. 

Nice, he was inside the dorm. What now? He planned to talk but he didn’t plan _ahead_.

Donghyuck motioned for them to head over to the kitchen counter. Mark obediently sat down on one of the seats. He waited for Donghyuck as the latter filled a glass with water and passed it to Mark. He took a big gulp, convincing himself he’ll need it. 

“So, what was so important that you had to come over at,” Donghyuck glanced over at the wall clock before continuing, “8 in the evening, drunk I assume?”

Mark decided he needed to say all that he wanted to these past couple of weeks while the alcohol still had effect on him. He sighed.

“That day. I’m sorry for walking out on you when you were talking about Taeil.”

Donghyuck’s face softened. He opened his mouth to say he was never mad when Mark started his word vomit,

“I’m sorry about being distant recently. I thought it would be good for me but I didn’t take your feelings into consideration. I’m sorry for not being genuinely happy when you got your soul mate tattoo. I’m sorry for coming in your dorm in this state again. I’m sorry I never told you I got my tattoo and for thinking I could ever be your soul mate.”

Donghyuck interrupted Mark’s pity train before he got any further, “Wait wait you got your tattoo?”

Mark nodded. 

“When?”

“Around a week before you got yours.”

“And you didn’t tell me,” Donghyuck mused, hurt evident on his face. “I thought you were being distant because I got my tattoo before you got yours and it hurt your pride.”  
Mark laughed. “God, I’m so stupid,” he said exasperated, burying his head in his hands. 

Silence fell over them. 

“What did you mean you thought you could be my soul mate?”

Mark let his hands fall. “My tattoo is you, Donghyuck.”

Mark instantly started to strip off his jacket and shirt after he said so. Donghyuck’s eyes widened.

“Wait what are you-”

Donghyuck’s eyes fell on Mark’s abs. Sure enough, there his name was. He couldn’t help but notice how Mark had a nice figure at all despite him always opting for over sized clothes. He flushed and averted his eyes, 

“I-I see.”

Mark didn’t bother putting on his shirt again, much to Donghyuck’s dismay (but he wasn’t complaining). He was too occupied with how he was going to word his thoughts.  
“I thought, if I got your name as my tattoo, it would mean you would get mine too. I waited for that to happen but I was wrong. I saw you with Moon Taeil that day and I realised maybe I’m not your soul mate for a good reason. Taeil is…he seems like a good guy. So uhm… please be happy.”

And once again, Mark proceeded to leave the scene without noticing the hurt flash over Donghyuck’s face. He ducked his head down and put his shirt back on while getting up from his seat. But Donghyuck wasn’t having it this time. 

“Wait!”

Mark was already halfway to the door when he turned around. He still blames the alcohol but he also thought it’s partly Donghyuck’s fault that he’s this insanely attractive. Maybe it’s the alcohol and he’s imaging the faint reddening of his ears and hesitance over_ Lee Donghyuck’s_ face. 

“You can’t just leave like that after you told me you like me,” Donghyuck stated bashfully and _God_, it’s definitely the alcohol and Mark wanted to kiss him _breathless_. But he wasn’t about to pass up on bickering.

“Technically, those weren’t the words I said."

“You said you wanted to be my soulmate; it’s the same thing.”

“Not really.”

Donghyuck’s face fell, afraid he had read something wrong and Mark wondered how he was more perceptive with his brain fuzzy than with his mind clear. He also wondered how it would be unfair if he didn’t say the words that he did next,

“But I didn’t deny it either, did I?”

Donghyuck looked up with wide eyes. And before he could say anything, Mark softened his features with fondness (or even sadness) and looked down at the male who was only a centimetre shorter than him but managed to make himself look smaller than he was. Mark’s chest swelled with something and it’s probably this something that made him more bold than he was.

“I _like_ you Lee Donghyuck. Like, _a lot_.”

Mark shifted closer to Donghyuck and his inner self was delighted when Donghyuck didn’t attempt to move away. Both of them were suddenly dauntless, willing to tread on the edges to see what lied beyond. 

“And I was scared.” Mark caught Donghyuck’s hand in his brought them up to his face before nuzzling his cheek to Donghyuck’s knuckles. He basked in the small gasp that left Donghyuck’s mouth. It was ridiculous, he thought. 

They’d barely known each other for a year and yet, he was so invested in Donghyuck. How he wanted his smiles to be only directed towards him and only him. How he wanted to treat Donghyuck tenderly as if he was the porcelein display his mother always forbade him to touch. He finally understood why his mother warned him. 

Mark knows it’s ridiculous to be such a fool. And yet, he can’t stop himself. And like every other time, he blames it on something else, the soulmate system in this case, so that he doesn’t need to come to terms with the fact that it was in fact his own fault.

It had been from the beginning, ever since he stumbled upon their old dorm.

“I was scared that I would lose you when in the past months you’ve proven to be the only constant I can rely on in my shitty life.”

They were so close and Mark could see Donghyuck’s eyelashes flutter as he tried not to look at their hands. 

“That’s rude. You say it like Jeno isn’t a good friend to you.”

“Donghyuck, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m referring to.”

Donghyuck exhaled through his nose. A breath he didn’t know he was holding. His brain had gone haywire from the moment to asked Mark to stop and this, _this_, wasn’t doing wonders to his heart either. 

“He already has a soulmate, you know,” Donghyuck whispered after what felt like an eternity to the both of them reveling in their shared warmth, scared he might ruin the tenderness of the moment.

Mark furrowed his eyebrows ,“Who?”

Donghyuck let out a breathy laugh and Mark _swore_ he had never been so in love before. _Wait.._

"The one because of whom we're like this in the first place, silly."

"Taeil?"

Donghyuck nodded and shifted closer to Mark until there was barely any space between their bodies. "I was surprised at first that it someone from the teaching staff. I talked to him and he apologized and told me he already had a soulmate. They were together since high school and were engaged already."

Mark was shocked. The effects of alcohol was close to wearing off. _How could the soulmate system fuck up this bad?_

"I don't know, to be honest," Donghyuck closed his eyes and it took Mark a moment to realize he had said that out loud. Apparently he was still drunk enough. 

"Taeil said...he said sometimes the soulmate system doesn't make it easy and tests? if the pair is really meant for each other or not. We talked about it for a while. He told me how the soulmate system doesn't necessarily pair up lovers in some cases like what happened with some of this friends. He also called me pretty," Donghyuck paused to laugh a little and Mark's gut wrenched with the feeling of something awful, "but he apologized to me again and said he couldn't help me in any way."

Friends. As if Mark would want that.

They remained silent and Mark tried to fend off the sickness in his stomach. "So..." he started first. 

"So," Donghyuck repeated and Mark had the faint feeling that he's done this before. But this time, he _does _feel that the universe is telling him something and doesn't question it.

Mark carefully brought up his other hand to caress Donghyuck's cheek and swooned at the way he leaned in to the touch. "You know," he started. Donghyuck hummed to let him know he was listening. "Your eyebags have reduced a lot since that night."

Donghyuck moved away from Mark entirely and gave him a scandalised look. "I _told_ you not to bring up that night ever again."

Mark laughed and attempted to bring Donghyuck closer to him like they were before. "What can I say? You trying to hit me with a bat sounds kind of hot, not gonna lie."

Donghyuck looked mortified, "Oh my god, he's a masochist."

Mark threw his head back from laughter. He recovered and gave Donghyuck the dumbest smile he could muster. One that said, _you're the most precious thing in my life._ He brought his face closer to Donghyuck's until their foreheads were touching and they were sharing their breaths once more. 

"What now?"

Donghyuck made a thoughtful noise before answering, "How about you kiss me right now?"

"Does that mean we're a thing then?" Mark thought he must have sobered up from the way he asked the important questions even at a time like that.

"How about you kiss me right now and then we can think about all the stuff that needs thinking while cuddling on my couch?" Donghyuck corrected himself and well that was a deal Mark couldn't deny no matter how much he wanted to. He'd be a fool to deny Lee Donghyuck like this anyway.

Without verbal confirmation, Mark leaned in until the bridge of their noses were brushing. They stayed like that for a few moments until Donghyuck's breathing became ragged and Mark's desire to leave him breathless hit him again. He finally pressed his lips against Donghyuck's.

Kissing Donghyuck was everything Mark wanted and nothing like what he imagined at the same time. They gave each other shy pecks at first before Donghyuck sighed and cupped Mark's jaw and slotted their mouths together. Donghyuck was the one kissing Mark despite his earlier request but who was Mark to complain?

He opened his mouth slightly and Donghyuck mirrored his action, pulling his other hand up to find purchase on Marks nape. Mark's hand in turn found home by pressing against Donghyuck's sides and he slightly furrowed at how thin the boy was. He broke off and looked at Donghyuck with disappointment. 

"Are you eating well?" He tried not to let his voice be affected from the way Donghyuck's lips looked and how his eyes were glassy.

Donghyuck huffed and tried not to show how wrecked he was, "Really? You fucking stopped kissing me just to ask _that?"_

"Well I'm your boyfriend now and I'm officially taking rank as your second mother after Renjun."

Donghyuck flushed. For the first time in his life, he forgot how to retort. He didn't know whether he should take offense on the fact that he needed to be taken care of or the fact that Mark labelled himself as his _boyfriend_. He chose the latter.

"Didn't we agree to think on the couch _after_ we kissed?" he pouted.

"Technically we did kiss."

"But what about the ta-"

"I really want to be your boyfriend Donghyuck. Marked by soulmate tattoo or not."

Donghyuck looked down in frustration; not because of what Mark said but because he couldn't scream his lungs out about the fact that _Mark Fucking Lee just said that. _Mark thought he had done something wrong and immediately started panicking, "What's wrong? Do you not want to date me perhaps?" he asked tentatively. 

Donghyuck snapped his head up so fast he got whiplash. "No!"

Mark recoiled from the sudden outburst. Donghyuck flushed again, "I mean n-no. I do want to date you. And I really want you to be my b-boyfriend too."

Mark smiled tenderly and Donghyuck _melted._

"Sounds like we don't need talking anymore but I still want that couch cuddling session."

Donghyuck moved fast, too fast for Mark to register and before he knew it, they were kissing again.

"Fine, you soft dork," Donghyuck said while positioning Mark's hands on his waist.

For the first time in a while, Mark thought he's done something right and Donghyuck thanked the heavens that his headache was no longer there.

///

"Call me 'Matchmaker Lee' because I fucking called it," Jeno proudly exclaimed over their table the following Wednesday. 

"First of all, the name's mainstream and plain," Jaemin, a literature major, remarked.

"Not to mention, dumb," Renjun said without looking up from his sketchbook where he was planning out his project for the semester.

"And there's like 3 Lees here," Mark gave the final blow and silence fell over the table.

"Y'all mean," Jeno whined and they all snickered. 

"Ok, but for real though, Jeno did tell me to date Donghyuck at the beginning," Mark admitted.

They fell to their usual light banter until Donghyuck tapped Mark's knee causing him to divert his attention to his boyfriend. Donghyuck gave him a meaningful look and he gave him a light reassuring smile. _You got this, _he mouthed.

During their cuddle session, Mark convinced Donghyuck to come clean to their friends because they were going to ask sooner or later about where Mark's tattoo was on his body.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," Donghyuck started. Jeno and Jaemin who were trying to distract Renjun immediately looked at him. Judging from his tone, he must've sounded serious since it was enough to make Renjun look up from his work for the first time since they sat down.

"It's about my tattoo-"

"You got Mark's name, right?" Jeno asked him.

Donghyuck looked at Mark.

"N-no."

"What?" came three voices in unison. 

Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows, "I thought you suddenly started dating because you got his tattoo."

"Actually...God where do I start," Donghyuck scrunched his face. He paused for a while trying to put his words together, "The thing is, Moon Taeil wasn't my first tattoo."

Renjun widened his eyes the most out of the three. Mark carefully watched their reactions.

"You lied to me the whole time?" Renjun asked, shaken. 

"No, Renjun listen to me," Donghyuck started frantically before his friend got the wrong idea. "The reason I didn't tell you was because...because-"

_Dammit_ it was so much harder in real life with four pairs of eyes staring him down rather than his own two in the mirror when he practised.

Jeno raised his eyebrow clearly disappointed in Donghyuck. "Because?" he demanded. Jeno was dangerous in that way, he thought. He was never the hot-headed type. Instead, he looked at people in his eyes with displease rather than getting angry at them; which Donghyuck believed was more terrifying than an open reaction.

He wanted to look at Mark to get him to help but deep down he knew he was the one who needed to say it the most.

Donghyuck sighed. "Because my first tattoo was Renjun," he said defeated.

Donghyuck mainly got two types of reaction after he said that : one of immense astonishment and another of a warm, proud look.

Their table fell into the longest silence there ever was with the five of them together. Anyone who passed by shuddered at the heavy air looming over them.

"I," surprisingly, it was Renjun who spoke first. "You- why didn't you ever _tell _me?"

"I didn't want to get in your way of happiness."

Renjun shut his eyes tightly and drew in a sharp breath. "Stop that."

Jaemin brought his hands up to rub soothing circles over the upset Chinese male. "Stop being so selfless for me," Renjun continued trying his best not to tear up. "Stop being so selfless when all I've ever done is be selfish!"

"Renjun, it's not your fault," Jeno tried to calm him down. 

Mark stood up finally intervening. "Jeno, Jaemin, let's let Donghyuck and Renjun sort it out between themselves. We wouldn't help much either." Donghyuck had never been more grateful in his life for a person other than Renjun.

Jaemin and Jeno glanced at each other in silent agreement before getting up. Donghyuck immediately shifted to the seat next to Renjun which was previously Jaemin's. They slowly left the table to let the pair talk comfortably. 

///

"Hey, how'd it go yesterday?" Mark greeted Donghyuck in the coffee shop he frequented. 

"Renjun was being too emotional about it but other than that, it went pretty well if I do say so myself," Donghyuck said while removing the face mask and letting it rest under his chin. "He won't kill me in my sleep, we discussed about it last night. Jeno and Jaemin though, I'm really not sure about them."

Mark laughed, "They won't do anything Renjun wouldn't do to you." Donghyuck scrunched his nose.

"That sounds kinda wrong but yeah let's hope for the best," Donghyuck shuddered and took a sip from his coffee.

Mark fondly stared at him and once he started, he couldn't find it in himself to stop. He basked in the satisfaction that came with the thought that Donghyuck was _his _and he was _Donghyuck's_.

"Stop being creepy so early," Donghyuck flushed and Mark snapped back to reality. He wanted nothing more than to kiss in that exact moment and that's what he did. He shifted closer and guided Dongyuck's face so that their lips touched. It was brief and chaste but enough to throw Donghyuck off guard.

"What was that for?" he retorted once Mark was back in his seat. 

"What? Can't I kiss my boyfriend when I want to?"

Donghyuck fell quiet again deciding he didn't have enough energy to deal with Mark this early in the morning. _Boyfriend_. He did like how that word rolled off Mark's tongue. But unfortunately his brain wasn't going to stand him being happy for once in a while.

"Hey Mark?"

"Hmm?"

"What if...what if I don't get any more tattoos. What if...I never get yours?"

"Donghyuck, what did I say about this? I'd love you no matter whose tattoo you have on your body. And you don't need to worry about me when I already have yours."

The insecurity clawed at Donghyuck nonetheless and Mark's words did nothing to soothe him. "What if, because of the system, we fall out of love?" he whispered the last part so vulnerably Mark surely wouldn't have heard it unless it was dead silent around them. But it was, and Mark had clearly heard him.

Mark leaned back in his seat without saying anything for a while and Donghyuck dreaded that he had said something very wrong. He didn't know what he feared more, the silence or the words that Mark would utter.

"Then," Mark carefully started in the tense atmosphere, "we'll each do little things that'll remind us of why we love each other everyday."

The day hadn't even started and Donghyuck was convinced Mark had already done his part of the reminder. Mark turned to look at Donghyuck and gave him a smile that made him look so young and boyish and healing that he couldn't help but let his breath hitch.

"How does that sound?"

Donghyuck simply nodded because his stupid brain was too _whipped_ to hold a proper conversation at the moment.

They sipped their coffees which was cooling down and let silence fall over them. They did that a lot didn't they? But Donghyuck loved it. Loved every moment he spent with Mark regardless of whether they were talking or not.

"Oh I almost forgot. How's your headache these days?"

Donghyuck grinned, "Better than ever now that I have a reason to look forward to sleeping."

**Author's Note:**

> ∧＿＿∧  
（ ´・ω・`) (○)  
,( ヽ∩∩ノ),、ヽ|〃,,,  
“““ ““ ““ ““ ““ ““ ““ “``““ ““  
Wow was that unnecessarily long :D  
I've always wanted to write about mismatched soulmates and I finally did it yay. 
> 
> We're conveniently going to ignore the fact that Donghyuck knew how to kiss despite having no prior relationships.
> 
> Here are some plotlines I seriously considered adding :
> 
> 1) Markhyuck never happening in he first place : Mark was destined to fall in love with Donghyuck and vice versa but Mark was supposed to get Jaemin's name as his tattoo. Jaemin's second tattoo was also supposed to be Mark's instead of Jeno's. [ Poor Jeno :"( ]
> 
> 2) One-sided Renhyuck : During the table scene, Renjun was supposed to say that Donghyuck was his first love. He wishes Donghyuck would have told him since the beginning. [ Well, that he wishes either way ]
> 
> 3) Taeilhyuck [ I'm sorry idk what their ship name is called ] : Taeil was supposed to have Donghyuck's tattoo and fall in love with him.
> 
> These would've been seriously good flavouring but I decided it wasn't appropriate for a one-shot so let's say Amen to the Lord that I didn't add those in the story and make it an even bigger mess than it already is.
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic I love you and hope you have a great day~


End file.
